Berkeley Homes forced to abandon SECOND planning application for use of depots

Berkeley Homes have withdrawn their second planning application to use the Sopwith Way depots for storage for the VISTA project. The disgusting, arrogant behaviour of Mr Travis Crawford of Berkeley Homes has been slapped down by residents, hopefully for the final time. Berkeley Homes started to use the depots in April 2016 , without planning permission or resident consultation. Having been forced to submit a retrospective planning application, the strength of resident opposition forced them to withdraw it, but only after they had made life hell for residents for most of 2016. Berkeley Homes stayed in the depots long after having been ordered to quit by the Council and it took the personal attendance of a planning enforcement officer on December 21st 2016 to finally make them stop using the depots.

However, a few weeks later, in January 2017 they submitted another application – this time for two of the arches rather than all five. Once again, resident opposition was widespread and forceful and Berkeley Homes have now withdrawn that application. Apparently they still wish to use the two depots as a ‘workers welfare centre’ but they will not be used for storage and therefore there will be no forklift trucks operating in and out of them.

This is a small but important victory for residents. There are many other issues on Sopwith Way that remain to be addressed (traffic routinely doing 40 mph plus in a 5 mph zone for example) but this decision underlines that we do not have to put up with unreasonable behaviour from Berkeley Homes (the most arrogant and selfish developer in the UK) or Rendall & Rittner (the most useless managing agent in the UK) – residents can and will make their voice heard on the issues that effect them.